Three years after the passage of the SK Reform Law in 2016, the law has not been fully implemented. The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) lacks implementation details and SKs and stakeholders have yet to be oriented on it. Most SKs have yet to comply with the requirements for them to receive and utilize their budget. There is confusion among SKs, local government officials and national government agencies on mandates vis-à-vis the SK Reform Law implementation. The status of the SK budget is unclear and the trainings conducted have been lacking in substance and form.
G-Watch is exploring to set up a multi-sectoral and multi-level citizen monitoring of key government programs and services in the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) learning from the three-decade old experience and knowledge of G-Watch adapted and customized in the unique context of BARMM.
On April 20-22, G-Watch conducted a soft launch of the initiative ‘Enabling G-Watch Monitoring in BARMM’ and briefing-orientation of volunteer-monitors from Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.